Lawson Burkhart (Poplar, Wisconsin) has signed a letter of intent to attend Dordt University and join the Defender men's cross country and track and field programs.  

Burkhart is a 5'10" distance runner who competed for the Northwestern High School cross country team last fall. Burkhart was the team's No.2 runner and earned all-conference honors after finishing fifth at the conference meet. 

"Lawson is a great addition to Dordt University and our distance program," commented Dordt University Head Cross Country Coach Nate Wolf. "Lawson is a great athlete who saw outstanding success last fall.  He has a ton of potential as a distance runner and has great character. Lawson will have a positive impact across the entire campus community and I am excited to work with him the next four years."

Burkhart has a personal best 5K time of 16:40 and had an average 5K competition time of 17:30. He plans to study mechanical engineering at Dordt and is the son of Ryan and Lisa.

"Dordt is a place where I can get an amazing education with a Christian-based perspective," said Burkhart. "Everyone I visited with when I came to campus was so friendly and supportive; it feel like God is calling me to attend Dordt."

Dordt University in Sioux Center, Iowa, is a comprehensive Christian college rooted in the Reformed tradition. The Defender athletic program is a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC), American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) and the Mid-American Collegiate Hockey Association (MACHA).    

U.S. News & World Report, Money Magazine, Forbes.com, Washington Monthly, and Princeton Review all list Dordt on their best colleges lists. Dordt is home to approximately 1,500 students.